Whitton - Whorlton

Whitton

WHITTON, a township, in the parish of Grindon, union of Stockton, N. E. division of Stockton ward, S. division of the county of Durham, 5½ miles (N. W. by W.) from Stockton; containing 52 inhabitants. The township comprises 750 acres: the main line of the Clarence railway passes through it. The vicarial tithes have been commuted for £11; and the impropriate for £106. 17. payable to Christ's Hospital, Sherburn.

Whitton, with Tripleton

WHITTON, with Tripleton, a township, in the parish of Leintwardine, union of Ludlow, hundred of Wigmore, county of Hereford; containing 72 inhabitants, of whom 40 are in Whitton.

Whitton (St. John the Baptist)

WHITTON (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Glandford-Brigg, N. division of the wapentake of Manley, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 11 miles (W. N. W.) from Barton-upon-Humber; containing 217 inhabitants. The living is a discharged rectory, united to the vicarage of Aukborough, and valued in the king's books at £6. 10.

Whitton

WHITTON, a township, in the parish and union of Rothbury, W. division of Coquetdale ward, N. division of Northumberland, ½ a mile (S.) from Rothbury; containing 82 inhabitants. In 1381, Earl Gilbert Umfraville died possessed of this manor, which his relict conveyed in marriage to the first lord Percy, by one of whose descendants it was given in exchange to the rectory of Rothbury, for the old hall and glebe of that benefice, "which lay intermixed through the demesne of Rothbury." The village is pleasantly situated a short distance west of the road from Rothbury to Rothley. Whitton Tower, formerly a very strong fortress, is a commodious edifice, still occupied by the rector of the parish; near it is a circular observatory, built by the late Dr. Sharp.

Whitton

WHITTON, a chapelry, in the parish of Burford, union of Tenbury, hundred of Overs, S. division of Salop, 3¾ miles (N. W. by N.) from Tenbury; containing 61 inhabitants. Here is a farmhouse formerly a seat of the Charltons, where James II. visited: a chamber in it contains some superior tapestry of that period. The chapel is annexed to the second portion of the rectory of Burford: the interior of the edifice was restored in 1844, and a parsonage-bouse built in 1845.

Whitton (St. Mary)

WHITTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union and borough of Ipswich, E. division of Suffolk, 2½ miles (N. N. W.) from Ipswich; containing 422 inhabitants, and comprising 1462a. 1r. 9p. The Stow-Market and Ipswich navigation passes through the parish. The living is a rectory, with the living of Thurlton annexed, valued in the king's books at £6. 11. 5½.; patron, the Bishop of Ely. The manor and impropriation of Thurlton were granted to Cardinal Wolsey by Henry VIII., and now belong to the Rev. Edward Woolnough. The impropriate tithes of Whitton with Thurlton have been commuted for £170, and the incumbent's tithes for £259; the glebe comprises 39 acres. Thurlton church, dedicated to St. Botolph, has long been used as a barn.

Whittonditch

WHITTONDITCH, a tything, in the parish of Ramsbury, union of Hungerford, hundred of Ramsbury, Marlborough and Ramsbury, and N. divisions of Wilts; containing 135 inhabitants.

Whittonstall

WHITTONSTALL, a chapelry, in the parish of Bywell St. Peter, union of Hexham, E. division of Tindale ward, S. division of Northumberland, 10 miles (S. E. by E.) from Hexham; containing 184 inhabitants. It is situated on the Roman Watling-street, and is the property of Greenwich Hospital. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £45; patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Durham. The chapel, dedicated to St. Philip and St. James, has been rebuilt. The governors of the hospital allow £15 a year to a master for teaching children.

Whitwell (St. Lawrence)

WHITWELL (St. Lawrence), a parish, in the union of Worksop, hundred of Scarsdale, N. division of the county of Derby, 10¾ miles (E. N. E.) from Chesterfield; containing 1157 inhabitants. This place, like some of the neighbouring villages, has been on the decline since the opening of the Chesterfield canal; but frame-work knitting is still carried on to a small extent. The ancient Hall has been converted into a farmhouse. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £20. 3. 4., and in the gift of the Duke of Portland: the tithes have been commuted for £642, and the glebe comprises 143 acres. The church has a Norman tower. At Steetly, said to have been at one period a distinct parish, are the remains of an ancient church, exhibiting a fine specimen of the later and more enriched style of Norman architecture; it is an interesting ruin, and is preserved with great care.

Whitwell

WHITWELL, a parish, in the union of Aylsham, hundred of Eynsford, E. division of Norfolk; adjoining the town of Reepham, and containing 519 inhabitants. It comprises 1494a. 18p., of which 1064 acres are arable, 346 meadow and pasture, 24 woodland, 6 occupied with buildings and waste, and 52 common land allotted to the poor for cutting turf; the surface is undulated, and the scenery in many parts picturesque. Here are two extensive tanneries. The living is a discharged vicarage, united to the rectory of Hackford. The church, situated in the same burial-ground as that of Reepham, is an ancient structure in the later English style with a square embattled tower and south transept, the whole thoroughly repaired in 1834; it serves also as the church for Hackford parish. There is a place of worship for Primitive Methodists.

Whitwell (St. Michael)

WHITWELL (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Oakham, hundred of Alstoe, county of Rutland, 7 miles (W. by N.) from Stamford; containing 139 inhabitants. It comprises about 600 acres. The soil is a light loam, alternated with clay; the surface is undulated, and the lower grounds are watered by a small brook which divides the parish from Hambleton. Stone of inferior quality is raised for building and for the roads. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £5, and in the gift of the Earl of Gainsborough: the tithes have been commuted for £140, and the glebe comprises 54 acres. The church is ancient. The water of the place is slightly impregnated with iron.

Whitwell (St. Radegund)

WHITWELL (St. Radegund), a parish, in the liberty of East Medina, Isle of Wight division of the county of Southampton, 8 miles (S. by E.) from Newport; containing 660 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy, united, with the vicarage of Godshill, to the rectory of Niton. The church, an ancient structure built and endowed by De Estur, lord of Gatcomb, contained chapels in honour of the Blessed Virgin and St. Radegund.

Whitwell, in Kendal ward, county of Westmorland.—See Selside.

WHITWELL, in Kendal ward, county of Westmorland.—See Selside.

Whitwell

WHITWELL, a chapelry, in the parish of Catterick, union of Northallerton, wapentake of Gilling-East, N. riding of York, 3 miles (E.) from Catterick 5 containing 79 inhabitants. It comprises about 490 acres of land, and is partly the property of the Earl of Tyrconnell, who owns the manor. The river Swale pursues its devious course on the west and south.

Whitwell-House

WHITWELL-HOUSE, an extra-parochial liberty, in the S. division of Easington ward, union, and N. division of the county, of Durham, 2¾ miles (E. S. E.) from Durham; containing 173 inhabitants, and comprising 540 acres of land. It lies north of Quarrington; adjoining the grounds of Shincliffe, in St. Oswald's parish, and is held by lease under Sherburn Hospital. Among the families that formerly resided here, were those of Brasse and Teasdale. The produce of two coal-mines in the liberty respectively A. pit and B. pit, is shipped at Sunderland.

Whitwell-On-The-Hill

WHITWELL-ON-THE-HILL, a township, in the parish of Crambe, union of Malton, wapentake of Bulmer, N. riding of York, 5¾ miles (S. W.) from Malton; containing 215 inhabitants. It comprises about 1640 acres of land, late the property of the Graham family, by whom it was sold for 95,000 guineas to J. Haigh, Esq., whose executors are now lords of the manor. The Hall, a fine mansion, built by Mr. Haigh at an expense of £30,000, is at present occupied by his widow. The village is on the road from York to Malton.

Whitwick (St. John the Baptist)

WHITWICK (St. John the Baptist), a parish, in the union of Ashby-de la-Zouch, hundred of West Goscote, N. division of the county of Leicester, 5½ miles (E. by S.) from Ashby; containing, with the townships of Swannington and Thringstone, 4286 inhabitants, of whom 2310 inhabitants are in Whitwick township. Whitwick is a small town, and, since 1838, has had a market for flesh, butter, poultry, &c., on Wednesday. It is picturesquely seated in the coal district, below the rocky hills at the south-west angle of Charnwood Forest; and about a mile westward of the town is a large modern village called Coalville, mostly occupied by colliers. In the parish are 6407 acres, whereof 3378, including Mount St. Bernard and other parts of Charnwood Forest, are in Whitwick township. The soil on the south and west is in general thin, with a cold clay substratum, and the surface flat; on the east, or forest side, the soil is partly a red earth and partly an indifferent black peat, and the surface very uneven and rocky. Whitwick colliery was opened in 1824: for some years, a stratum 4 feet 3 inches in thickness, at the depth only of 119 yards, was worked; but the pit is now sunk for a depth of 259 yards, to a thick and excellent bed of coal, which has obtained the name of "brilliant" in the Leicester, London, and other markets. In the other townships of the parish coal is also abundant: at Thringstone several strata have been reached at various depths, from ten to 150 yards, five and six feet thick, and of excellent quality. The parish is traversed by the Leicester and Swannington railway, and the lines branching to the neighbouring collieries and limeworks, and to Ashby.

The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £9. 14. 7., and in the patronage of the Duchy of Lancaster; net income, £179; impropriator, hir G. Beaumont, Bart.: the tithes were commuted at the inclosure of the parish in 1801. The church is an ancient structure with a tower. At Swannington is a separate incumbency. The Baptists, Primitive Methodists, and Wesleyans have places of worship; and there is a handsome Roman Catholic chapel, built in 1837. On the south side of the immense rock called Mount St. Bernard, is the monastery of St. Bernard, occupied by a number of English Cistercian monks of La Trappe, in France, who returned to this country and settled in the forest, where a wild tract of desert land, comprising about 250 acres, was purchased for them in 1835, of Thomas Gisborne, Esq., by Ambrose Lisle Phillipps, Esq., and his lady. Only 35 acres of the land were in cultivation when the monks entered upon it, and they lived for more than a year in a miserable cottage. In 1839, the Earl of Shrewsbury made a munificent gift which enabled them to build the present abbey, from a design by Pugin: it was consecrated by Dr. Wiseman in August 1844, when the domestic and other buildings, including the cloister, chapter-house, refectory, dormitory, and prior's-house, were all completed. The scenery in the neigbourhood is remarkably stern and wild. The parish receives about £20 per annum for the support of a school, £10 for distribution among the poor, and means for apprenticing four boys, from funds bequeathed by T. Monks to the parish of Austrey, Warwickshire; and a boy is apprenticed every fourth year from Lady Beaumont's charity at Cole-Orton. There are several Sunday and other schools. Near the town are some slight vestiges of Whitwick Castle, built by one of the earls of Leicester.

Whitwood

WHITWOOD, a township, in the parish of Featherstone, Lower division of the wapentake of Agbrigg, W. riding of York, 4¾ miles (N. W. by W.) from Pontefract; containing 417 inhabitants. It includes the hamlet of Whitwood-Mere, and comprises about 1012 acres of land: the commons were inclosed in 1806. The village is on the south side of the river Calder. There is an extensive manufacture of earthenware; also large glass-bottle works.

Whitworth

WHITWORTH, a parochial chapelry, partly in the union of Auckland, and partly in that of Durham, S. E. division of Darlington ward, S. division of the county of Durham; containing, with the township of Tudhoe, 617 inhabitants, of whom 290 are in Whitworth township, 4 miles (N. E. by N.) from Bishop-Auckland. According to the Boldon book, this manor was held by Thomas de Acley, by the service of a quarter of a knight's fee; it was afterwards possessed by the Whytworths and the Nevills, and subsequently by the Shafto family. The chapelry comprises about 3250 acres: the village is pleasantly situated about three-quarters of a mile south of the river Wear. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Durham, the appropriators; net income, £243. The incumbent's tithes have been commuted for £179, and the glebe consists of 24 acres. The chapel was originally subject to the vicarage of Merrington: in the cemetery, among other ancient memorials, are a monument of a knight in armour, and the effigies of two females.

Whitworth

WHITWORTH, a district chapelry, in the parish and union of Rochdale, hundred of Salford, S. division of the county of Lancaster, 2¾ miles (N. by W.) from Rochdale. It lies on the road from Rochdale to Burnley. The manor was granted by "divers donators" to the convent of Stanlow in Cheshire, in the reign of John; among these donors was Sir John de Elland, parcener of the lordship of Rochdale, who gave one moiety of the manor. The chapel, which is dedicated to St. Bartholomew, was founded by the principal inhabitants of the township, about the time when Todmorden and Milnrow chapels were built, "an era," observes Dr. Whitaker, "of chapel building." The edifice appears to have been rebuilt in the reign of William and Mary; it was again rebuilt in 1775, and the burial-ground was consecrated twenty years afterwards by Bishop Cleaver. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Mrs. Langton, Mrs. Hornby, and James Starky, Esq.; net income, £256. Twelve children are taught to read for £14. 10. a year, arising from certain cottages bequeathed by James Starky, of Leigh, mercer, in 1724.

Whixhall

WHIXHALL, a chapelry, in the parish of Prees, Whitchurch division of the hundred of North Bradford, Northern division of Salop, 3¾ miles (N. by E.) from Wem; containing 978 inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £152; patron, the Vicar of Prees.

Whixley

WHIXLEY, a parish, partly in the Lower, and partly in the Upper, division of the wapentake of Claro, W. riding of York; containing, with the townships of Hammerton-Green and Thornville, 946 inhabitants, of whom 594 are in Whixley township, 11 miles (W. N. W.) from York. The parish comprises about 2200 acres, chiefly the property of Whixley Hospital; the surface is undulated, and the soil rich, producing fine crops of wheat, barley, oats, and turnips. The village, which is large, is neatly built on the gentle acclivities of a hill, about half a mile west of the road from York to Boroughbridge. The living is a perpetual curacy, valued in the king's books at £7. 17. 1.; net income, £68; patrons and impropriators, the Governors of the Taucred charities. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment in 1801. The church is an ancient structure in the early and later English styles, with a square embattled tower; it was repaired and repewed in 1817. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Christopher Tancred, Esq., whose family were long seated at the Hall, at his death in 1754, left his house to be converted into an hospital for twelve decayed gentlemen, and endowed it with estates which, in 1815, were let for £2480 per annum. He also assigned to it £1282. 15. three per cent, consols., directing part of the income to be appropriated for twelve exhibitions; four at Christ's College, Cambridge, for divinity, four at Caius College for physic, and four at Lincoln's-Inn for law. The hospital is a spacious and handsome brick building, consisting of a centre and two wings. In the Hall are portraits of the founder and Queen Mary II., and the edifice contains separate lodging-rooms for the inmates, with spacious dining and drawing rooms for their joint use, and a chapel, in which divine service is performed daily by a chaplain, who has a stipend of £20 per annum. Attached to the house are two large gardens, with pleasure-grounds. Each of the inmates has an annual allowance of about £50, which includes 1s. 6d. per day for provisions. They are elected on petition, and are generally decayed clergymen and gentlemen, being at least fifty years of age previous to admission; candidates are eligible if born in Great Britain, but must be members of the Church of England. The hospital is under the immediate care of a receiver, and the direction of the governors of Greenwich and Chelsea Hospitals, the master of the Charter-House, the president of the College of Physicians, the treasurer of Lincoln's-Inn, and the masters of Caius and Christ's Colleges. The present warden is Mr. John White, nephew of Gilbert White, the historian of Selborne, Hampshire.

Whixoe, county of Suffolk.—See Wixoe.

WHIXOE, county of Suffolk.—See Wixoe.

Whorlton

WHORLTON, a chapelry, in the parish of Gainford, union of Teesdale, S. W. division of Darlington ward, S. division of the county of Durham, 3½ miles (E. S. E.) from Barnard-Castle; containing 286 inhabitants. This place formed part of the forfeited estates of the Earl of Westmoreland, and was purchased from the commissioners of the crown lands; the manor subsequently became the property of the Sanderson family. The chapelry is situated on the river Tees, over which is a handsome suspension-bridge, erected in 1831, after a design by Mr. Green, of Newcastle, and which connects the two counties of Durham and York; the surface is pleasingly varied, and the higher lands command a fine view of the Rokeby grounds and other interesting scenery. The soil near the river is rich and fertile, in other parts a strong clay; limestone of inferior quality abounds, which forms an excellent material for roads. There are some petrifying springs. The chapel stands near the edge of a precipitous cliff overlooking the river: the living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Gainford, with 57 acres of glebe. The Independents have a place of worship.

Whorlton

WHORLTON, a township, in the parish of Newburn, union and W. division of Castle ward, S. division of Northumberland, 4¾ miles (N. W. by W.) from Newcastle; containing 60 inhabitants. This township, divided into East and West Whorlton, comprises about 582 acres, of a strong clay soil yielding good crops of wheat and clover. In West Whorlton is the Hall, which contains some choice paintings, and the scenery around which is undulated, and very pleasing. The village lies equidistant between the roads from Newcastle to Heddon and to Ponteland.

Whorlton (Holy Cross)

WHORLTON (Holy Cross), a parish, in the union of Stokesley, W. division of the liberty of Langbaurgh, N. riding of York; containing, with the township of Potto, the village of Swainby, and part of the cliapelry of Faceby, 798 inhabitants, of whom 505 are in Whorlton township, 5½ miles (S. W. by S.) from Stokesley. The parish is situated at the base of the Cleveland hills, and comprises about 6700 acres, of which 3000 are open hilly moorland, affording rough pasturage, and abounding with grouse; 250 wood and plantations; and the remainder arable and pasture in good cultivation. The scenery is pleasingly diversified, and in some points strikingly picturesque. There are quarries of good building-stone. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £84; patron and impropriator, the Marquess of Ailesbury. The church is an ancient structure, with a square tower on the south side; it contains a monument to a Knight Templar, and is remarkable for a beautiful ivytree, which flourishes in the interior. Faceby chapel forms a separate incumbency. At Scarth, in the parish, a cell of Augustine canons, subordinate to the monastery of Gisburn, was founded by Stephen Meinil, in the time of Henry I. The lofty gateway-tower of a castle supposed to have been built in the reign of Richard II., still remains, bearing the arms of D'Arcy, Meynell, and Gray, its ancient possessors; the castle and manor passed in the reign of Charles I. to Thomas Bruce, Earl of Elgin, who was Earl Bruce of Whorlton, ancestor of the present lord, the Marquess of Ailesbury.